Bright Local Back To School Bash

New PTA event is Aug. 10; open houses on Aug. 13 and 14

By Jeff Gilliland - jgilliland@timesgazette.com

Downing

Hoping to make the start of the school year a little less burdensome for some families, the Bright Local PTA has scheduled its inaugural Back To School Bash for 6-8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10 at Bright Elementary School.

The FreeStore Food Bank will be on hand offering free produce and other items to families; free school supplies will be available; there will be an inflatable slide, games and activities that will be free; hot dogs, chips, popcorn and drinks will be available for purchase for $1 each; and there will be a raffle for a Nintendo Classic game system, $100 City Barbecue gift card, plus several other items. Raffle tickets will be one for $1 or six for $5.

All proceeds will benefit the Bright Local PTA.

“This all started a few months back with us just wanting to help out all the hard-working families around our school district,” said Bright Local PTA President Bobby Noe. “We were thinking that if we could help out any families with a need, that would be a good thing on our part. We got support from about six local churches, private businesses and individuals — basically the whole community — to get school supplies.”

The school supplies will be separated by grade level in the school stage area, and Noe said families should be able to get exactly what their students need to start the school year.

The FreeStore Foodbank will be set up in the school cafeteria and will be giving away fruits, vegetables, bread and other items, according to Noe. He said food will be given away starting at 6 p.m. and continue until it is gone.

Separate open house events will be held at Whiteoak High School and Bright Elementary. The high school open house is Monday, Aug. 13 from 5-7 p.m. The elementary open house is Tuesday, Aug. 14 from 5-7 p.m.

At the high school, students will receive their schedules in the student center. They will be able to purchase iPads for $350 with a payment plan available. If a student has already purchased an iPad outside of school, they should bring it to the open house to have it set up for the new year, superintendent Ted Downing said. He said that if students choose not to purchase an iPad, there will be a $50 fee to use one owned by the school.

At the elementary open house, students will be able to meet their teachers, bus drivers will available to answer questions about routes, and Debbie Robertson will be there to help with questions about lunch accounts.

At both open houses, information on a permanent improvement levy slated for the November general election will be available, as well as voter registration information.

Downing said that if passed, levy funds could only be used for permanent improvements at the schools including safety resources, technology, expanded parking, building maintenance and possibly a track. He said the track would be the last item on the list and would become a reality only after the other improvements have been made.

The superintendent said about 50 new students have enrolled at Bright Local, and that more than 60 have been enrolled for kindergarten, above the average kindergarten class size of 45 to 50.

“Student enrollment is up, test scores are up, and we are asking the community to help keep us where we are,” Downing said.

The first day of school for all Bright Local students is Thursday, Aug. 16.